Phil Mickelson Oct 28, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; Phil Mickelson tees off on the second hole during the first round of the season finale of the LIV Golf series at Trump National Doral. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
GolfBy Sean Keeley on

For better or worse, Phil Mickelson is arguably the biggest draw in LIV Golf. While many of the biggest names in the sport defected from the PGA Tour last year, Mickelson remains the face of the franchise, so to speak.

While Mickelson is one of the biggest names in golf, the same could not be said for anyone else on his 2023 LIV Golf team, which was revealed on Monday.

Mickelson will be on a four-man team called the HY Flyers along with Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele, and James Piot. If the idea was to pair Phil with other big names that could maintain interest when he’s not on the course, this doesn’t seem to have had that effect.

The reactions from the golf world seemed to confirm that sentiment.

“Safe to say this stellar team of [nobodies] was worth all that soul searching and time out eh [Phil],” said one fan.

“This is not a good team,” another fan said.

“I think Phil’s current team is one of the worst. I’m not hating on them, objectively they are one of the worst teams on [LIV Golf],” said a golf-related account.

“It’s interesting for LIV to find points of differentiation from PGA Tour, such as a team concept. I’m just not convinced that anyone cares,” said former Nike social media manager Kyle Stack. “LIV needs to build equity in the idea. Can’t just roll out team concepts and expect people to be excited by the idea.”

We’ll see how Phil’s new team stacks up on the golf course when the 2023 LIV Golf season kicks off this weekend in Mexico.

[HY Flyers GC]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Sean Keeley